Discoveries
by suzie2b
Summary: A hypnotherapist is called in to help Hitch fill in the blanks.


**Disclaimer:** _ **The Rat Patrol**_ **is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.**

 **Discoveries**

 **By Suzie2b**

 **Two days after rescuing Troy from the Germans, Dr. Adrian Rossi arrived at the base in Isdud. He met with Colonel Harrington to discuss the report he'd received on Private Mark Hitchcock.**

 **Harrington said, "He's been understandably nervous since this whole thing started. First he was charged with murdering his sergeant. Then he finds out he's lost a week out of his life."**

 **Dr. Rossi nodded thoughtfully. "Yes. What has happened with the murder charges?"**

" **It was discovered they were falsified and were immediately dropped."**

" **You say in your report that Private Hitchcock was brainwashed. Can you explain why you believe this?"**

 **Colonel Harrington said matter-of-factly, "He tried to blow up our munitions bunker while sleepwalking. Luckily Sergeant Moffitt and Private Pettigrew were there to stop it. Hitchcock has no recollection of the incident and is concerned there may be other 'things' waiting to come out."**

 **The doctor said, "All right, colonel. I will need a place that is quiet and where we won't be disturbed."**

" **You can use my office, Dr. Rossi. I'll tell my aide to let no one bother you."**

 **The doctor looked around the office. There were several plush chairs against one wall. "This will do nicely. Thank you, colonel. Now, if you would be so kind as to notify Private Hitchcock that I am here, I will get things ready."**

 **##################**

 **Tully met Hitch outside the hospital. "How's Troy doing?"**

 **Hitch replied, "Better. He can open his eyes all the way now and he says his vision is clearing."**

 **Tully saw the worry on his friend's face. "Then what's the matter?"**

" **I just got word that the doctor that's going to hypnotize me is here and wants to see me. I'm just nervous is all."**

" **Is sarge awake?"**

 **Hitch shook his head. "No, he fell asleep again just before I left. Moffitt's sitting with him."**

 **Tully said, "Want some company?"**

" **You don't have to…"**

" **I want to. Let's go."**

 **There was a light knock on the office door. When the doctor opened it, Hitch and Tully were standing there. "I am Dr. Adrian Rossi. Do come in Private Hitchcock." Tully started to follow Hitch inside and the doctor stopped him. "I'm sorry, but I don't allow visitors during these sessions."**

 **Hitch asked, "Can't he stay, Dr. Rossi? I'd feel better with a friend with me."**

 **Tully said, "I'll be as quiet as a church mouse, sir."**

 **Rossi smiled at Hitch. "Of course." He looked at Tully sternly. "You can sit at Colonel Harrington's desk. And remember, not a sound."**

 **Tully nodded and made a motion of zipping his lips, then walked to the desk to sit down.**

 **The doctor turned back to Hitch and said, "May I call you Mark?"**

" **Yes, sir. I don't mind."**

" **Good." Dr. Rossi indicated the two chairs he'd moved so they were facing each other. "Let's have a seat, Mark."**

 **Hitch sounded a little nervous as he sat down. "Are you really going to hypnotize me, sir?"**

 **Rossi sat in the other chair and smiled gently. "First of all, I am a doctor, not your superior officer. Most of my patients just call me 'doc'." Hitch nodded and he continued, "Now, as an explanation of what I'm going to do. I am a doctor that specializes in hypnotherapy. Yes, I am going to hypnotize you. This is how we will discover what has happened to you and find what you have lost. Do you understand, Mark."**

 **Hitch nodded slowly. "I think so, doc. Can you really pull a whole missing week out of me?"**

" **I believe I can if you allow me to do so."**

 **Hitch took a deep breath. "Okay, let's do this."**

 **Dr. Rossi nodded. "All right, Mark. I want you to get comfortable and relax." He began to speak in a slow, soothing voice as Hitch leaned back in the chair. "Let my words wash over you. Everything here is safe, calm, and peaceful. Let yourself sink into the chair as your relaxation deepens." The doctor noticed Hitch's shoulders droop slightly. "Now, I would like you to breathe with me. Take a slow, deep breath in. Let the air fill your chest and lungs. Then let it out just as slowly." They did this together several times. "Do you feel yourself relaxing, Mark?"**

 **Hitch blinked slowly. "Yes."**

 **Dr. Rossi continued, "Good. Just keep breathing. Slowly in … slowly out. Now, I want you to remember that you are in complete control of this time. You will only accept those suggestions which are for your benefit and that you are willing to accept. Find something in this room and fix your gaze on it." Hitch looked passed the doctor and locked eyes with Tully. "All right, Mark. Concentrate on that object and continue to relax and breathe." Rossi watched Hitch's eyes as they continued to breathe together. "Your eyelids may begin to feel heavy and want to close. Don't be afraid to let them drift and fall as you let yourself slip deeper and deeper into a calm, peaceful trance."**

 **Tully watched Hitch's eyes slowly close. Dr. Rossi rose from his chair and silently went to the desk to whisper something in Tully's ear. The private nodded and quietly opened the top drawer of the desk to get paper and pen. The doctor had told him that since he was there he could take notes.**

 **Dr. Rossi went back and sat down. "Can you hear my voice, Mark?"**

" **Yes."**

" **Good. I'm going to ask you some questions now. I want you to remember that no matter what you see happening in your mind, you are safe. Nothing can harm you here. Understand?"**

 **Hitch took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Yes."**

" **I want you to go back to Tuesday, March 24** **th** **. Tell me where you are and what you're doing."**

" **I'm in my quarters at the base in Ras Tanura. Captain Boggs sent Moffitt and Tully out to do some recon. They were only supposed to be gone about three hours."**

 **Dr. Rossi asked, "Where is Sergeant Troy at this time?"**

 **Hitch replied, "He was in a meeting with Major Gleason. That's why Moffitt and Tully went out alone. I wasn't too happy about that, but there wasn't anything I could do about it."**

" **Why would that make you unhappy, Mark?"**

" **We're a team. We watch each other's backs. I get a little nervous when we're separated."**

 **Tully looked up from the pad of paper and smiled at his friend even though Hitch couldn't see it.**

 **Rossi nodded. "I see. Now tell me about when Sergeant Troy arrived at your quarters."**

 **Hitch said, "Troy told me there was a convoy pinned down at the wadi at Ahmim. We were the closet, so sarge and I headed out and were to meet Moffitt and Tully there."**

" **What happened when you arrived at the wadi at Ahmim?"**

" **Nothing at first. There was no convoy, no signs of fighting."**

 **The doctor asked, "Had Sergeant Moffitt and Private Pettigrew arrived?"**

" **Not yet. We were taking a look around when the Germans broke out of the wadi. I tried to get us out of there, but they got us surrounded too fast."**

" **All right, Mark. I want to you to skip ahead to when you and Sergeant Troy are in the German camp. What's happening?"**

 **Hitch let his mind fast forward. "They separated us right away. I was told by the German commander … a 1** **st** **Lieutenant called Lorenz … that if I did as I was told no one would get hurt."**

 **Dr. Rossi asked, "What did 1** **st** **Lieutenant Lorenz want you to do?"**

" **He wanted me to blow up the base in Isdud. I told him no of course, but they kept at me. Twenty-four hours a day. They wouldn't let me sleep and every time I dozed off they threw a bucket of water on me. They kept telling me that I had to blow up the base. That people would die if I didn't. It just went on and on and on, the voices never stopped. I'm not sure for how long … days I guess."**

 **The doctor saw that Hitch was getting a little agitated. "Relax, Mark. Breathe with me. Slow in … slow out. Remember what I said, nothing can harm you here."**

 **Tully felt anger bubbling inside him for what Hitch had gone through. He watched his friend take several breaths and visibly relax again.**

" **That's it. Just relax. Can you tell me if 1** **st** **Lieutenant Lorenz wanted you to do anything else?"**

 **Hitch said, "He told that if I did this one thing for him, nothing else would matter and I'd be a hero."**

 **Dr. Rossi asked, "What happened next?"**

" **The next thing I remember was being taken out into the desert. I asked them where I was, but no one would tell me. They turned the jeep over and made it look like it'd been hit by cannon fire. 1** **st** **Lieutenant Lorenz said, 'Remember your instructions.' Then he hit me." Hitch reached up to touch the still healing bruise over his eye. "I woke up handcuffed to a bunk. The guard told me I was under arrest for murder. It wasn't until I was released from the hospital and put behind bars that I was told that I was suspected of killing Sergeant Troy. They wouldn't believe me when I told them about being captured by the Germans."**

" **All right, Mark, we're going to back you out of the trance now. You will retain your memories and realize that what happened to you and Sergeant Troy is not your fault. There will be no more sleepwalking. Do you understand?"**

" **Yes."**

 **Dr. Rossi nodded. "I'm going to count down from five. At the count of one you will be feeling wide awake, fully alert, and completely refreshed. Five … you are beginning to awaken. Four … a bit more alert now. Three … you are becoming aware of your surroundings. Two … and one." Hitch opened his eyes and took a sighing breath. "How do you feel?"**

 **Hitch said, "Good. I feel like I've gotten a full eight hours sleep."**

" **What do you remember?"**

 **Hitch looked at Tully. "Everything. I remember what they did and what they told me … everything."**

 **Tully smiled slightly at the strength in his friend's voice.**

 **##################**

 **By the time Troy was well enough to be transferred to the base hospital at Ras Tanura, Hitch had been through several more sessions with Dr. Rossi. Not to be hypnotized, but to talk and understand what happened and why.**

 **Hitch discussed the sessions with Troy, Moffitt, and Tully at Dr. Rossi's urging. He assured them there would be no lasting effects from what the Germans had done to him and there wasn't any other German instructions lurking around in his head. "Dr. Rossi said I might have dreams or nightmares, but he told me I should talk to you guys about them and they wouldn't last."**

 **Moffitt questioned, "I understand the reasoning. But did the doctor say you should discuss your dreams with us specifically?"**

 **Hitch smiled. "He said I should talk to my trusted friends."**

 **Dr. Rossi had said at the end of their last session, "Give yourself time to heal, Mark. Remember to keep things in the open. Don't bottle up your feelings." He handed Hitch a card. "But if you need me, I'm only a phone call away."**

 **The jeep Hitch had been found with had been damaged beyond repair. When they were ready to follow the ambulance that Troy was in, Hitch looked at Tully and asked, "Can I drive? At least for a while. It'll give me something different to think about."**

 **Tully smiled. "Be my guest. We're a team and we have to watch each other's back."**


End file.
